Santorum: I might win Iowa recount

GREENVILLE, S.C. — Rick Santorum says the Iowa caucuses may not be over yet.

Eleven days after he was declared a very narrow second-place finisher — behind Mitt Romney by just eight votes — the former Pennsylvania senator predicted Saturday at a town hall meeting here that a recount could put him on top.

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After a long count that went deep into the night on Jan. 3, Iowa GOP chairman Matt Strawn announced the results that had Santorum behind Romney.

But Santorum said he’s getting the feeling that he may still edge ahead.

“South Carolina fights to be the first in the South primary, to be third in line. And what happened is that Iowa did not narrow the field. And, by the way, Iowa’s not done yet. They’re recounting those ballots right now,” Santorum told a crowd of more than 150 at Tommy’s Country Ham House. “So hold on. … All this stuff about, you know, ‘We’re going to win and he’s got two primaries down,’ just hold on one second. We’re not quite done there.”

Kim Lehman, the Republican National Committeewoman from Iowa — and a Santorum endorser — confirmed that a recount is under way and echoed the predictions that it might change the result.

“With a difference of eight votes, he could end up on top. We have found errors and they are still checking records,” Lehman said in an email Saturday. “By this Tuesday, we will all know for sure.”

Iowa’s not the only result Santorum’s looking to cast in a more positive light. Though the New Hampshire results haven’t been certified, Santorum has climbed narrowly ahead of Newt Gingrich there, overtaking the fourth-place position, as he pointed out.

“We just went there and continued on going out and talking in front of the national media and doing the debates,” Santorum said Saturday. “We started out the day after the Iowa caucuses, with six days to go in New Hampshire, at 2 [percent] or 3 percent, depending on the polls. And we ended up defeating Rick Perry and defeating Newt Gingrich in New Hampshire.”

The riff came as Santorum tried to convince undecided conservatives that they should coalesce behind him, not Gingrich, as the “anti-establishment candidate” who can stop Romney. The three are competing for a very similar segment of the electorate ahead of the Jan. 21 primary.

Santorum left the diner quickly after the event to catch a flight to Charleston for an afternoon forum with Mike Huckabee and did not elaborate on his Iowa comments. A campaign spokesman did not immediately respond to an email seeking more information.